I was looking through old blog posts last night and I noticed that I never posted this review for HE’S BEWITCHED. This book has already sold many copies and I haven’t promoted it in a long time. But I’m doing it now, and mainly because Gerry Burnie “got” what I was trying to do with this book. And when that happens, I can’t tell you how good it makes any author feel.

Here’s one quote I love: A campy little story not really intended to be taken seriously, and if read in this context it’s a fun read

I don’t believe all fiction should be deep and serious, especially not a m/m romance where readers are looking for something fun and something that will help them escape all their own problems. And if someone is buying an erotic romance I find it almost unethical not to add plenty of sex scenes. Readers are buying the book partly because of the sex scenes, and nothing bothers me more than an erotic romance without enough sex. That’s what I tried to do with this book. AMERICAN STAR is another example of a campy, satirical look at the pop culture TV show, American Idol. And if you read People Magazine…or just glance through last week’s section about Ashton Kutcher’s escapades…you’ll see how absolutely ridiculous pop culture can sometimes be.

For the past few days I have been following the blog posts of M/M book reviewer, Elisa Rolle. I saw that she was in the US on vacation, touring the east coast, and I contacted her about possibly meeting in person.

To my surprise, she accepted an invitation to meet me at my home on her way back to New York, from the Baltimore Washington area. Then we started private messaging each other through livejournal.com, where we both have blogs. For some reason, my AOL account kept bouncing back all the e-mails I was sending her and I didn’t want to miss out on a chance to meet her in person. I was so determined that I actually posted my home address and phone number on her comment thread, knowing I should not do something like this on the Internet. Thankfully, when she saw it, she covered it up.

I don’t remember exactly how long ago it was, but I met Elisa, online, through a review she’d written about a short story I wrote. The short story is titled, “Irene’s Cabin,” and it was published in an anthology by Alyson Books a few years ago. The story was a romance; the characters were totally in love and there was a very happy ending. And Elisa seemed to like it, so I thanked her in the comment thread.

After that, I started reading her blog regularly. I liked her taste in books and I’m always looking for good recommendations when it comes to my own personal reading. We seemed to connect through the comment thread and we built a nice online friendship without even realizing we were doing it.

This past year I did in in-depth interview with Elisa and I published it here and on gayagenda.com. The questions were geared toward M/M fiction and book reviewing, but the answers I received were detailed and smart. I gained an even stronger respect for Elisa after that interview. I also learned a few things I didn’t expect to learn.

I never, not in a million years, thought I’d get a chance to meet her in person unless I actually went to Padua and visited her myself. But it happened today. She pulled into my driveway at one o’clock this afternoon, she sat in my living room and we talked, and then we went out to a restaurant and had lunch.

Elisa was traveling with a good friend, Alessandra, who was doing all the driving and all the navigating. I was amazed to hear how much ground they covered while in the US. They drove between Mt. Desert Island in Maine and Virginia in a record two weeks time. We talked about books, about authors, and about publishers. We probably bored poor Alessandra to death. But the time passed too quickly. When we arrived in the restaurant, the room was filled. By the time we left, we were the last people left from the lunch crowd.

Online friendships can be simple or complicated. It’s an entirely different way of connecting and communicating. I’ve worked for editors for years that I’ve never met in person. I’ve never actually met my own agent. My friend, Ryan, has been an online friend forever, and I’ve never actually met him in person, either. But yet I feel as if I know these people. And that’s exactly how it was with Elisa. I only wish the time we had this afternoon hadn’t passed so quickly.

Author of over 100 published LGBT romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. Hates beets.
New Hope, PA Palm Springs, CA
ryan-field.blogspot.com